gentry estes, nashville tennessean
·4 min read
To those who’ve given up on Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley, know that he hasn’t given up on himself. He’s still trying. Still hoping. Still pushing to overcome limitations — and pain.
So much pain. Physical, but also the other type that's more difficult for Farley to explain.
He just knows that he hasn’t been laughing as much. “I find myself getting down a lot,” he said during the Titans' locker clean-out day in January.
It has helped to be around teammates, though the former first-round draft pick didn’t play in 2023. There’s no guarantee he’ll be able to play next season, either. That'll be the final year of his contract — and possibly his final chance to play for an NFL franchise.
Out of anyone on the Titans, Farley is who I’ll be rooting for to beat the odds in 2024.
“I just want a fair shot at it,” he said.
Since the Titans took him 22nd overall in 2021, he has played in only 12 games, and it feels like fewer. He is listed as having started twice. His health hasn’t allowed him to be out there enough to grow into his potential as an NFL player, and it might never allow it.
Farley suffered a serious knee injury in 2021. He’s still dealing with chronic back issues that accompanied him initially into the NFL and reportedly required a microdiscectomy in late 2022.
Farley is healing, but . . .
“One thing about my situation is no trainer can help me. No doctor can help me,” he said. “It's only by the grace of God that my situation has improved and will continue to improve.”
The faith in Farley comes naturally. He’s a man of spiritual faith. He has leaned on that and still does, even though faith can be tested in ways far beyond someone’s chosen profession.
The most devout can lose their mother to breast cancer, as Farley did in early 2018. Last August, he lost his father suddenly in a tragic explosion, ruled to be caused by a natural gas leak, that destroyed Farley’s home in North Carolina.
Previously: Caleb Farley's father was business owner who pushed son's NFL dream
“A big change has happened to me. Eternally,” Farley said last month. “ . . . But being around these guys (in the Titans’ locker room) and this family, everyone having a goal (they are) working toward has really given me something to be motivated for, to be excited for, to be ambitious for, to look in the future for.”
When Farley insisted, “I’m going to be OK,” he was answering a question about football. But you suspected he was talking about more. Same as when he employed a deep phrase — “chasing the wind” — that requires a theological dive to understand that the meaning has to do with attempting to achieve essentially unachievable material gains.
Late last season, as the disappointing Titans were slumping to the finish line and an eventual coaching change, a surprising transaction hit the wire on Dec. 20: Farley was returning to practice after a season on the sideline. He wasn’t going to play in any games, but it was a notable step in his recovery.
No physical milestone allowed it to happen at that point, according to Farley.
“I just decided that it was time for me to force it,” he said. “ . . . I wanted to build some momentum going into OTAs and fall camp.”
The Titans can’t go into 2024 counting on Farley to contribute in their secondary. Whatever they’re able to get from him will be a bonus, and there’s a long way to go. Above all, his health will have to cooperate when it hasn’t yet.
What a story it’d be, however, if Farley could turn it around.
“I’m extremely motivated,” he said. “That's why I'm here. That's why I'm preparing. That's why I'm going to bust my butt this offseason again to come here and compete for a starting job.”
I wish him luck.
If any player deserves something to go his way, it’s Caleb Farley.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Of all the Tennessee Titans, I'm rooting most for Caleb Farley in 2024
